Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-10-24
FOB THE PUBLIC'S SAKE.
Why Steamboats, Are Inspected The
Safeguards that Are Thrown
Around the Traveller
By Water for His Protection-A Mammoth
serv1ce-Why Not Inspect
Railroads?
Chicago Herald.

the only transatlantic mail and passenger
lines, they We're not as popular as they
are now. The public was accustomed to
the wind craft, and IS the ocean steamer
was an innovation it required time and
patience to make il successful competi-
tor of the clipper. Sailors said the steam
ers were not safe, and that they could not
cross the ocean. Il was asserted, too,
that they could not carry fuel enough to
last during 5000 mile voyage, and 100
other similar hints and suggestions in
tended to increase the prejudice against
the steamer were constantly thrown
out for the benefit of the travelling
public. Despite all predictions to
the contrary, the ocean steamer was
e success, and year by year it hiss been
gradually supplsnting the sail craft until
| it is now in the ascendsncY. With the
| rise of steam, sail has been falling, and
1t is almost safe to predict that another
quarter of century will see the almost
total eradication of the sailing feet from
the waters of the world. On the Great
Lakes the change is more marked per-
maps than it is on the ocean. For five
years past the schooner has been disap.
pearing slowly but surely, while there
has been q corresponding increase of
steam tonnage. When schooner sue
cumbs to the storm now, steam barge
is built to take its place, not another
schooner, as was the case ten years ago,
| for the reason that sail can no longer
compete with steam.
It was not long after the establishment
of the steamboat as On element In the
commerce of the world that Congress
passed restriction laws placing it within
the control Of the government. The ex-
perieGce Of a few years taught the public
that there were many things about e
steamboat that required the constant ct
tention of watchfuI inspectors, SO that it
might be safe at oil times for the travel
| ing public to ride in. The hull needed to
| be inspected periodically, and the boilers
and engines required the careful super
vision of others beside the engineers who
were paid to attend them. The result
was the establishment Of the steam
boat inspection service, which to-day
constitutes an important arm of the
governments machinery. As it is now
constituted the service consists of local
and supervising inspectors, and there is
not port in the country that is no;
within its control. Each regular district,
like Chicago, for example, has local
hull Inspector and boiler Inspector
The first named, as his title signifies,
looks after the hull and sees that it is
kept in good repair and is seaworthy, but
that is not all he does. lie must also in
spect life-saving appsratus-preserVer
RATS, floats, and bOats-so as 10 be sure
that the law is not being evsded ins any
particular. When vessel is being built
in his district he ought to watch it care
fully, If he does his duty, and he
is vested with authority to order any
changes he may think necessary to i'm.
prove the naw crafts sea going qualities.
! The hull inspector has another duty
which is equally as important as any e.
tached to his Office, bat it Is g duty that
few inspectors perform as it ought to be
performed. He is required under the
law to see that the crew On every steam
boat, especially passenger steamers, is
thoroughly drilled in fire and boat ser
vice, 30 they will be ready to meet any
emergency that may arise, but he rarely
does more than furnish masters with
| drill cards, leaving the latter to DO about
as they please with their crews.
There are few hull inspectors, how
ever, who endeavor to keep up this
branch OF steamboat service to as high a
standard as possible, and among them is
Captain Cy. Sinclair, Chicago's local IN
spector. He is an old steamboat captain
of wide and varied experience, and he
thoroughly understands how much de-
ponds upon a perfect drill on shipboard
il case Of fire or shipWreck. He has
even gone so far as to compel the own
ers Of tugs and hsrbor excursion boats
TO furnish their craft with life rats, boats
and other life saving applisnces, and he
has caused many changes 10 be made in
the outfits Of larger steamers that en-
gage in passenger carrying. In speaking
of inspections Yesterday, he said
"We have to exercise the utmost care
and our best Judgment in performing our
duty, for an Inspector must try and dc
Justice to the owner of q vessel as well as
to the public. One of the hardest things
we have TO do is to inspect passenger
steamers and excursion boats, for we
must determine how many persons they
ought to be allowed to carry. In doing
this we take into consideration every
thing about the boat-her size, her age
her model, her seaworthiness and the
quantity and quality Of her life-savins
appliances. Not infrequently we have tC
order repairs, and sometimes thorough
rebuild when boats do not come up tc
our standard Of sesworthiness." The
boiler inspector, who is also the engine
inspector, has quite as importanta duty tt
perform when an inspection is in progress
as the hull inspector, for it happens fire.
quently that a boats machinery eno
boilers are lacking in every important
particular when her hull is ell right
Boiler tests are made with cold water, 9
force pump and hammer, and they are
| generally conducted on scientific prin.
ciples. The Chicago inspector of boilers
is Stewart Moore, who for years was c
AXE engineer. Mr.. Moore generally gu.
, perintends the construction of new
boilers, even going 30 far as to test tn,
strength Of the steel that is used, tha
J he may satisfy himself it will perform
, the work that may be required of it.
There is still another provision in tn,
steamboat laws that is important in thi
! connection; the officers OF steamboats,
masters matpa and nuUipaara-